Woman whose lips 'tripled in size' after Botox party issues warning

As we've been told time and time again, doing your research is imperative when it comes to making any changes to your appearance. Whether you're going in for a routine eyebrow wax, or delving into the world of fillers and botox, there is so much room for error, and of course, tears and regret.

Case in point: a woman's lips swelled so much that they touched her nose after she had filler injected at a Botox party.

Credit: Facebook / Rachael Knappier

Rachael Knappier, who hails from Leicestershire, UK, says she "shouted out in pain" after she had lip filler injected by a beautician at her friend's house.

After agreeing to Botox on her forehead, Knappier said the beautician noticed a lump on her lip - from an injury she sustained when a fire door hit her, aged 13.

"That lump is my number one insecurity. As she pointed it out, I was just drawn in," she said.

Knappier immediately started feeling unwell after she retuned home. Later that night, she awoke to find that she couldn't feel her lips.

"My lips were a size I had not seen before."

Credit: Facebook / Rachael Knappier

She proceeded to contact the beautician on FaceTime, who later said that Ms. Knappier was "gasping and holding her hand over her mouth."

"She told me to put an ice pack on and take an antihistamine but my lips were growing," Knappier continued. "Then she kept repeatedly shouting, 'get to A&E'."

At the hospital, Knappier was informed that the NHS do not dissolve lip filler, and could only check that she was not in any immediate danger.

She said that she was shaking and vomiting, and did not leave her home for seven days.

After first seeing a local aesthetic nurse, the 29-year-old went to the Consultant Clinic in London, where they dissolved the filler, and 72 hours later, her lips were back to normal.

Credit: Facebook / Rachael Knappier

"It's left me traumatised. I would not wish it on my worst enemy," Knappier asserted.

She has started a petition calling for aesthetic medical treatments to only be performed by doctors, nurses and dentists. She also believes that the aesthetic medial industry should be subject to greater regulations.

Dr. Marc Pacifico - a consultant plastic surgeon from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said that dermal fillers are a "complete wild west in the UK".

"We are one of the few western countries who regard [fillers] as a device not a medicine," he continued. "There have even been cases of blindness. It was really about time stronger regulation was brought in."

Dr. Natalie Boyd, from the Consultant Clinic, said she believed Ms. Knappier suffered a vascular occlusion.

This possibly happened because the filler was injected "into or around an artery or vein, which then causes a vicious cycle of swelling and compression".